Shilpa Gupta at www.tate.org.uk/netart

Shilpa Gupta's new work Blessed Bandwidth invites visitors to log on, choose a religion and get blessed. Set against a world divided by faith, the work explores religion, globalisation and the complex cultural and political dynamics of the internet. Commissioned by Tate Online (http://www.tate.org.uk), it juxtaposes the real and virtual worlds and encourages visitors to consider how these spaces overlap and merge.

< the work explores religion, globalisation and the complex cultural and political dynamics of the internet.>Does it? How does it do this?So often I read these kind of assertions inartist's/curatorial statements.I took a look and it feels pretty ordinary andformulaic to me.Maybe I'm being uncharitable or missing something.Maybe I'm not looking in the right way.I'd be interested to know what others think.michael

Its copy is more amusing, its concept is more focused, it more thoroughly chews what it bites off, because it presumes to bite off less. In short, the piece critiques fast food religion. At a deeper level, it laments the corrosive aspects of consumer culture on human spiritual aspirations. I could write a couple of papers on it (blah blah blah), but I just rented a Young Ones DVD, and later I mean to take a nap.

Its artist statement is in white html at the bottom of the first page. Select all or view source to see it. Even without the artist statement, the critical intention of the piece is self-evident without beating you over the head with self-conscious irony. And if you're tricked into thinking the piece is real (as some people are with blackpeopleloveus.com), then it serves a critcal purpose along those lines as well.

I think she got an A- or a B+ for it.

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The tate piece blenderizes half-baked critiques of fast food religion, all religion, ritual, partisanship, globalisation, and war. All it lacks is an autogenerative logo and a psuedonymous etoy-ish art corp creator, and it would have filled in all the requisite net.art blanks. Oh, and surveilance cameras. There must always be something about surveilance cameras!

> < the> work explores religion, globalisation and the> complex cultural and political dynamics of the> internet.>> Does it? How does it do this?> So often I read these kind of assertions in> artist's/curatorial statements.> I took a look and it feels pretty ordinary and> formulaic to me.> Maybe I'm being uncharitable or missing something.> Maybe I'm not looking in the right way.> I'd be interested to know what others think.> michael> > Commissioned by Tate Online> > (http://www.tate.org.uk), it juxtaposes the real and> > virtual worlds and encourages visitors to consider> > how these spaces overlap and merge.> > > > > > Two critical texts accompany the piece:> > God, Prayer and Politics: The Work of Shilpa Gupta,> > Heidi Reitmaier> > Blessed-bandwidth.net: it's super authentic, Johan> > Pijnappel> > > > Both texts and the work itself can be found via> > http://www.tate.org.uk/netart/blessedbandwidth/> > > > +> > -> post: list@rhizome.org> > -> questions: info@rhizome.org> > -> subscribe/unsubscribe:> > http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz> > -> give: http://rhizome.org/support> > -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is> > open to non-members> > +> > Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set> > out in the> > Membership Agreement available online at> http://rhizome.org/info/29.php> > > =====> *** QuickTime large QuickTime NUMBER, it is small, office being nearly> office OF the office OF the COMMANDS office OF the film or many nearly> time the small order where that, that is the office OF the office OF> the COMMANDS QuickTime when into the film, is given, it gives the> office OF the> http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/Some_QuickTime_Movies> http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/ ***> > __________________________________> Do you Yahoo!?> Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard> http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree

Its copy is more amusing, its concept is more focused, it more thoroughly chews what it bites off, because it presumes to bite off less.> I absolutely agree. I'd go further & say thatprecisely *because* of its terseness, its concretenessof content and its thoroughness of execution ( exceptfor the misspelling of 'promiscuous')it actually starts to achieve some of the pretensionsof the Tate piece.Isn't this often the case with good art that the truthabout a small thing, well told, then has many broaderand more universal implications?When you have work like this it starts to bemeaningful to say that the piece is 'about this' or'about that', 'does this' or 'does that' (although I'mgrateful that the artist herself didn't, or at leastnot in that horribly portentous way).

Religion > - The central subject for the work is world religion, from theperspective on an artist based in Mumbai.

Globalisation >- Shilpa did not travel to the UK at any point in the commissioningprocess (This was primarily a question of how best to use the limitedfunds available. We're hoping to get Shilpa over in the Spring toparticipate in some related educational events). All communicationbetween Tate and the artist and took place via pcs and phones. - What's more, I'd suggest that the work encourages visitors to reflecton the effect of globalisation on religion (and vice versa), and howreligion on a state/global scale blurs with politics.

Complex cultural and political dynamics of the internet > - The site homepage is IP specific and varies depending on thegeographical point of access. In the UK, the first religion we areoffered is Hindu. - Furthermore, the site is hosted in India, not with the majority ofTate Online's content, in Glasgow, which (I reckon) raises interestingquestions about the relationship of the museum to such practice. - Shilpa has placed ads on Google to try and attract new, non netart/art museum visitors to engage with the very public work.

This is my on the fly response, but I'd also really recommend readingthe 2 texts that accompany the piece.

< the work explores religion, globalisation and the complex cultural and political dynamics of the internet.>Does it? How does it do this?So often I read these kind of assertions inartist's/curatorial statements.I took a look and it feels pretty ordinary andformulaic to me.Maybe I'm being uncharitable or missing something.Maybe I'm not looking in the right way.I'd be interested to know what others think.michael

Hi Jemimathanks for the reply. Nothing of what you've said about the piece, however,is immediately apparent from the piece itself, which Istill find pretty lacklustre.Plus, I'm just personally uncomfortable with theamount of meta artistic sludge one has to trudgethorugh in order to "get" a piece like this.I can't help feeling that the worthy things you claimthe piece does could probably be better accomplishedby a terse little pamphlet on religion andglobalisation.Did you take a look at the student piece that Curtreferenced?I think it does a lot of what you claim for the Tatepiece with considerable more economy and force.I will take a look though at the Tate documentationand have a think about it, as you suggest.bestmichael

--- Jemima Rellie <Jemima.Rellie@tate.org.uk> wrote:> Hi there Michael and I'd suggest it does for the> following reasons:> > Religion > > - The central subject for the work is world> religion, from the> perspective on an artist based in Mumbai. > > Globalisation >> - Shilpa did not travel to the UK at any point in> the commissioning> process (This was primarily a question of how best> to use the limited> funds available. We're hoping to get Shilpa over in> the Spring to> participate in some related educational events). All> communication> between Tate and the artist and took place via pcs> and phones. > - What's more, I'd suggest that the work encourages> visitors to reflect> on the effect of globalisation on religion (and vice> versa), and how> religion on a state/global scale blurs with> politics. > > Complex cultural and political dynamics of the> internet > > - The site homepage is IP specific and varies> depending on the> geographical point of access. In the UK, the first> religion we are> offered is Hindu. > - Furthermore, the site is hosted in India, not with> the majority of> Tate Online's content, in Glasgow, which (I reckon)> raises interesting> questions about the relationship of the museum to> such practice. > - Shilpa has placed ads on Google to try and attract> new, non net> art/art museum visitors to engage with the very> public work. > > This is my on the fly response, but I'd also really> recommend reading> the 2 texts that accompany the piece. > > : )> > Jemima > > > -----Original Message-----> From: Michael Szpakowski [mailto:szpako@yahoo.com] > Sent: 08 November 2003 16:02> To: Jemima Rellie; list@rhizome.org> Subject: Re: RHIZOME_RAW: Shilpa Gupta at> www.tate.org.uk/netart> > > < the> work explores religion, globalisation and the> complex cultural and political dynamics of the> internet.>> Does it? How does it do this?> So often I read these kind of assertions in> artist's/curatorial statements.> I took a look and it feels pretty ordinary and> formulaic to me.> Maybe I'm being uncharitable or missing something.> Maybe I'm not looking in the right way.> I'd be interested to know what others think.> michael> > Commissioned by Tate Online> > (http://www.tate.org.uk), it juxtaposes the real> and> > virtual worlds and encourages visitors to consider> > how these spaces overlap and merge.> > > > > > Two critical texts accompany the piece:> > God, Prayer and Politics: The Work of Shilpa> Gupta,> > Heidi Reitmaier> > Blessed-bandwidth.net: it's super authentic, Johan> > Pijnappel> > > > Both texts and the work itself can be found via> > http://www.tate.org.uk/netart/blessedbandwidth/> > > > +> > -> post: list@rhizome.org> > -> questions: info@rhizome.org> > -> subscribe/unsubscribe:> > http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz> > -> give: http://rhizome.org/support> > -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is> > open to non-members> > +> > Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms> set> > out in the> > Membership Agreement available online at> http://rhizome.org/info/29.php> > > =====> *** QuickTime large QuickTime NUMBER, it is small,> office being nearly> office OF the office OF the COMMANDS office OF the> film or many nearly> time the small order where that, that is the office> OF the office OF the> COMMANDS QuickTime when into the film, is given, it> gives the office OF> the>http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/Some_QuickTime_Movies> http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/ ***> > __________________________________> Do you Yahoo!?> Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard> http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree